it is just two days into the can erm elections, you share your comments at c-span.com. >> throughout campaign 2014, c-span has brought you more than 130 candidate debates from races the country in that will determine control of wins, who loses and which pretty will control the house and senate. our coverage begins at 8:00 p.m. eastern with the results and analysis. throughout the night and into the morning, we want to hear from you with your calls, facebook comments and tweets. campaign 2014 election night coverage on c-span. debates from around the country beginning with the

candidates in the new hampshire senate race. brown.shaheen and scott that is followed by the alaska senate debate between mark begich and dance all of them. ther, a for him with candidates in south carolina's race which features lindsey graham and ted hotel. report has the senate race in new hampshire as a tossup between jeanne shaheen and scott brown. their final debate was this past week in manchester. it is an hour. >> tonight, a commitment 2014 special brought to you by w m new in partnership with the union later, the institute for

politics and abc news. [applause] canood evening, everyone welcome to the final night of the granite state debate. this evening, the u.s. senate candidates. i am john by george stephanopoulos. >> this is one of the most closely watched senate races in the country. a lot of big money and big names have come in to try to influence the outcome. i'm excited about the opportunity to help you to get to know these candidates. >> thank you for being here. here are our candidates. senator jeanne shaheen is serving her first term in washington, also a former governor. she will be facing republican challenger scott brown. he's a former senator and served 35 years in the national guard. we have asked our audience to hold our of foster the debate -- to hold their laws during the

debate except for right now. please welcome our candidates. [applause] >> we do want to knowledge the death of the former boston mayor, someone who was well-known throughout new england. he passed earlier today and condolences coming in from across the region and the white house. here are the guidelines for tonight's debate. we will out 32nd rebuttals as needed and offer follow-ups. 30-second have rebuttals as needed and offer follow-ups. there will be one round of candidate to candidate question and maybe a question or two will come against our voters. with all the introductions now under the way, let's go to george stephanopoulos. >> the first question comes to you, what is the greatest threat facing america today and what can you do as senator specifically to address it?

>> the greatest threat is radical islamic jihadists. they want to disrupt the middle east, export terrorism around the world. we have local rum in africa, we have isis, we have al qaeda elements. the number one goal is to disrupt and dismantle the society as we know it. senator shaheen has called the we're discussing fear mongering. i call it a very rational field. -- rational fear. right now, there has been hesitations and half steps as evidenced by secretary pineda. he wanted to leave troops in iraq during the pullout. he made very clear that he wanted to do that. the president did not listen to him and as result we are having more and more trouble in that

region. >> do you agree that is the greatest threat? look i certainly agree that isis is a threat. a bigger threat is not having the commitment and the conch and here in this country to address the threat of isis, to address other threats facing this country. i don't share my opponents view that isis or other terrorists are going to cause the collapse of this country. america is strong, we have a strong smelter in the world and -- and the strongest military in the world and we are going to take on this thread, we have a strategy to do that, building an international coalition. the airstrikes have taken hundred's of fighters and we are working with over 60 nations to address this threat. but we don't need is our leaders raising concerns about our ability to take this on. we can take on anything that american sets his mind to do and that is what i'm counting on.

>> do think it was rise of president obama to rollout the use of ground troops? >> we have heard from the other generals that we don't need ground troops at this time. when american interests are threatened, we reserve the right to take any action and i think that that is true in this case. right now, we need to let the iraqis, the kurds, we need to let the people whose country these our do the fighting. >> you're not ruling out ground troops? >> i don't think we should take tens of thousands of american troops and put them back into

iraq as an occupying force. that is what my opponent says that we should do. that we should have an occupying force like we did in korea. i don't think we want tens of thousands of american troops as an occupying force for 60 years as we have had in korea. >> i was speaking to speaker boehner and he did say that american troops would have to go in on the ground if other countries didn't step up. do you agree? >> i want to rely on the generals on the ground. the president and senator shaheen have taken the greatest fighting force off the table. isis isn't taking anything off the table. we are a liberty force, we are not an occupying force. i and every other person is served in the military resents the fact that you're calling us occupiers. >> well, in fact, what you have suggested and what others have suggested is that we should go back into iraq and you suggested and my opponent suggested it in an interview that we should look at this like we did in south korea.

i don't think that that is what we should be doing. we don't want to send tens of thousands of american troops back into the middle east. but we want to do is to support the kurds, the iraqis on the ground as they do the fighting. >> we had an opportunity to sign a letter. we signed a letter to the ministration, please don't leave iraq as is. senator shaheen did not sign that letter. we are not talking about occupying forces, we are talking about leaving a transition force as we have done in korea, germany, japan. having the opportunity to have the government lean on us. to do otherwise is dangerous. to support the kurds, we should have done that a long time ago. finally, they are making gains. the fact you have called us occupiers is an insult to the men and women who have served. we are a country for good, we are liberators.

it is an insult to those at a given blood, life, and lamb. -- and limb. >> to talk about a related topic. the first question from our panel. >> senator shaheen, the mother of james foley, told abc news that the national security officials repeatedly threatened her family with prosecution if they paid ransom. was his hard-line necessary or did the government mistreat the family? >> i don't think that hard-line was necessary. i've had a chance to talk to the foley family about what happened, the barbarous murder of jim foley, both with ties to new hampshire.

this is one of the things that brought home to us. the threat from isis. i had the opportunity to question both secretary of state kerry and secretary of defense hagel the hard-line that we took. we need to look at how we are helping families who are faced with the situation that the foley family was facing. we should do everything we can to help those families. i don't think they should pay ransom for americans because that is what is at risk. i think it is very important that we treat the families with respect that we do everything we can. to help negotiate the release of any americans held prisoner. >> senator brown. >> can you imagine if that happened to your child. when it happened, everyone one of us was deeply saddened. senator sheehan and i went to memorial service for the foley family. what the state department did was unconscionable. the fact they would use the strong arm of the federal government, one again chipping away at our rights and freedoms, and trying to do something important for the family to heal, also to have the glimmer of hope to get their child home.

i would have done anything and everything to get anyone of my children home for friends of anyone that i knew. that's a problem with the federal government, they are chipping away at our rights and freedoms. they're telling us what to do, how to do it, and we should sit down and be quiet. it is time to stand up and take back our rights and freedoms. >> you said that before we even talk p a comprehensive immigration plan, you want to secure the border first. fine, let's begin with that. let's begin with that, there are 7000 miles of border that include the southern and northern portion. give a realistic plan as to how you would secure all of those miles and how much that would cost. >> will, the cost is very minimal in terms of the safety and security of our country. it is the number one priority. we have to make sure we secure the border.

obviously, use fences, walls, aerial surveillance, infrared, troops, border security personnel, natural resources, it is not secure. i voted twice to secure the border. senator shaheen opposed it is the number one issue. that effort. they're deeply concerned about people coming through that are not here. -- that are not here legally, but people that have criminal intent and terrorist intent or carrying some type of disease or another. we have to make sure it happens. the president is also seeking as part of immigration to legalize upwards of 11 plus million people and giving them enhanced benefits. i disagree with that. i will go to the funding source and make sure that he's preparing it right now. -- and prepare that doesn't happen. he is preparing that right now. senator shaheen agree was that,. i do not. >> i said the cost is irrelevant. the safety and security of our

country is the most important thing. when you have the federal government consistently wasting our tax dollars, trust me, there's a lot of money in the federal government right now they are not a good steward of your money. senator coburn put out a very thorough book. how about taking that and use it to secure the border? >> president obama says he has big plans for immigration after election day. he's not going to tell us until then. something senator blunt has called a cynical ploy to protect obama's fellow democrats like you. when he makes this announcement, what would you like to see the president say? do you think it's really fair to new hampshire voters he's delaying an announcement? >> i don't think the president should take any action on immigration. we have a bill on the floor that the senate passed with a strong bipartisan vote that accomplishes comprehensive immigration reform. but it doesn't secure the t does is secure the border, it does that by building

700 miles of border fencing. it doubles the number of border guards who are there. it increases surveillance, interdiction, all the things senator brown said he wanted to do are part of that legislation, including an e verify system so people who are hiring can determine whether they are hiring legal or illegal immigrants who are here in this country. it also provides for surveillance and interdiction efforts. the fact is that bill has the support of senator mccain, senator rubio. it has a strong bipartisan vote. it's the kind of bill we should pass if we are going to address this issue. >> folks, if you have seen a tv set at any time in the last year, you probably know already which candidate on stage tonight is being characterized as a blindly loyal foot soldier who can't say no to president obama and which candidate is being painted as a back politician who isn't from new hampshire. the adds have been there. for our voters who have seen them but haven't her from their candidates for response. here's a chance to defend themselves. senator shaheen, what is the last big policy disagreement you

can point to that you have had with president obama? >> i disagree with the administration's proposal for another round of base closings. i share the readiness subcommittee. any proposal to close our bases has to go through our committee. i have said without any hesitation that we are not going to do another round of base closings. i'm not going put at risk shipyards and other bases important to our national security. i want to go whack to the -- back to the border question because one of the things that my opponent has said in the last couple of days is that we've got to close the border because we've got people coming across with polio and other diseases. the fact is, we haven't had polio in this hemisphere since the early 1990's. this is another effort to scare people about what's happening at our border. even the former republican chairman said that scott brown

is trying to scare people about the border. >> senator brown, fear mongering, the accusation? >> the enterovirus which are polio-like symptoms is real. it's in our country right now. that's what i was referring to. since the senator brought up the border and the immigration bill, i think it's important to discuss, once this bill, if the bill that the senator is referring to would have been passed and the president signs it, it immediately gives him the ability to give preference to people that are recently here, jobs. i want to fight for jobs in new hampshire. if you read the recent article about the jobs that are right now going to illegal immigrants and new people to our states, 70% are going to those people. i want to make sure we protect jobs right here, right now. with regard to once again scaring people, i have held six town halls. go around our state all the time talking about these very important issues. this is what people are talking to me about.

they want their border secured. they want to make sure that their kids and families are safe. >> senator, want to keep moving forward on some of the politics and perception of this race. i asked senator shaheen what is the last big disagreement she had with the president. you have been selling you have bipartisanship. when is the last time you agreed with this president on a major policy issue? >> i commended him for going after bin laden. i thought it showed great courage. i told him personally. the problem is since that time, however, there's been hesitations and half steps. not only with iraq but dealing with obviously boca haram in africa. there is a lack of could he herein policy on issue after issue. senator a shaheen has been endorsing foes for the last six years. >> senator, please, move forward with this as well. you have been asked a number times why you are running in new hampshire. you say it's because you live here, but until the past year the reality is you did live in massachusetts. a lot of people are wondering

why did you move to new hampshire instead of staying in massachusetts? >> i know senator shaheen has made my residency and wife and personal family choices an essential part of her campaign. i'm glad i have an opportunity to discuss it. i was born at the shipyard, the place you want to save, i appreciate that effort. my mom was a waitress at hampton beach. they met, they fell in love, had me. the first three years of my life i lived in portsmouth. my family's roots go back nine generations to the founding families of new hampshire. on the start of the american revolution. most importantly my wife and i have been property and taxpayers for over 25 years. that being said, i want to focus on where we are going because senator shaheen's from missouri. she came here later in life. we both care about new hampshire. but the question is, what are we going to do for new hampshire? right now i believe by endorsing the president's failed policies over 99% of the time, we are not going in the right direction.

>> senator shaheen, one of your biggest supporters is hillary clinton. she'll be here on sunday three days from now. she moved to new york and became a senator there. was that a problem? >> it's not a problem that either hillary clinton or moved to new york or scott brown moved to new hampshire. the voters will have a chance to determine whether his candidacy makes sense or not. the question is not where he's from. the question is what he's for. i have worked to make sure that our middle class families, our small businesses have a fair shot at success here. supporting our small businesses with the small business jobs act. i was in manchester yesterday where because of what was in that act they now have over 400 employees. my opponent voted against that. i supported something called the travel promotion act to help our tourism industry. attract visitors from outside of this country. it's good for new hampshire. we have over 70,000 jobs in the

tourism industry. my opponent voted against that. instead, he voted to support subsidies to the big oil companies. he supported the $19 billion give away to the big banks. he supported companies that want to outsource our jobs. the issue is who is going to fight for new hampshire and put new hampshire first. >> senator brown, 30 seconds. >> i'm glad she's talking about these bills because they were voted against. she has a zero rate interesting the national federation of independent businesses. and an f rating from the chamber of commerce. when you're talking about jobs and job protection, it doesn't add up when you're voting 100% of the time against small business. the biggest challenge right now for our ski operators and other recreational areas is obamacare, which, senator, you were the deciding vote on. as a result our ski lifts had to close early last year and they are deeply concerned about the business mandate coming in after the election which will lead to higher and higher and higher rates.

>> health care is an issue we'll get to later. george stephanopoulos. >> another issue that's been dominating the headlines that's the scare over ebola. we saw those coming back from african countries should self-quarantine for 21 days and the state has the authority to enforce it just next door in maine we are seeing a standoff. putting the governor and the nurse who says she doesn't want to abide by the quarantine. he says he will exercise, quote, the full extent of his authority to impose the quarantine. do you think that's a good move? >> people are understandably concerned about the threat of ebola. this is a new disease. we have seen missteps by the c.d.c. from the dallas hospital. i think asking people who have been to west africa, who have been in contact with ebola patients to do a voluntary in-home guarantee makes sense. in fact -- quarantine makes sense. in fact, the government does have the authority to enforce this quarantine to ensure the

safety of their residents. that's important to do. hopefully they can work this out so that they don't have to arrest anybody or put anybody in jail because this seems like they should be able to get to a reasonable solution. but again, just like the issues around the border with immigration, the issues around isis, the issues with ebola, my opponent has been using the concern that people have and really fear mongering that concern for his own political purposes. a leader should be serious, should alert people to what's going on with issues, but not try and grandstand on them. >> let me move on to senator brown. pin you down, you're saying you believe the governor should have the authority to enforce it. >> i said i believe they do have the authority. >> so it's not really a voluntary quarantine, right? >> hopefully people will be willing to voluntarily willing to do it. if they don't, then the governors have the authority to

enforce it. i was a governor. i worked after september 11 with the threat of anthrax, the threat of bioterrorism. i think we have to understand that governors need to protect the health and safety of their residents. so this is another case where they have the authority to do that. >> senator brown, how do you respond to the points that have been made having a quarantine for something who is asymptomatic doesn't follow science. >> let me tell you my opinion on this important issue. thank goodness we have troops and people who actually want to go to those areas. they are heroes. the military, chuck hagel, has said our soldiers when they come back are going to be mandatorily quarantined. yet the president says it needs to be voluntary. there's confusion not only the c.d.c., the head was in front of of congress saying we need good ideas. they said that a nurse who was infected could actually fly when she called the c.d.c.

the problem is that we don't have a clear and concise policy. the experts are confused. we need to have a mandatory travel ban. it's a no-brainer. commen sense. not fear mongering. we need to make sure we have mandatory quarantine because we saw in new york, 300 miles away, somebody was out going to a restaurant bowling and on the subway when he was infected. i think -- i would argue that the governor has the ability to enforce that law. and i believe that the woman in maine is -- we need to put public safety ahead of personal inconvenience. that's basic common sense. >> well, as i said i think the governor does have that authority. but if my opponent were so concerned about the c.d.c. and about this issue, then it's disappointing to see when he was in the senate he voted for a republican budget that slashed funding for both the c.d.c. and the national institutes of health. these are serious issues. we need people to come together

with serious solutions to address them. >> what's the answer? >> this isn't a money issue. this is a commonsense issue. you don't need more money to tell people what they need to do. we want the president to succeed. we also want clear and concise information as to what we are going to do, what's expected of us, and how we can help. it's not about money, senator. it's about having clarity. initially you were opposed to a travel ban. then apparently you were in favor of a travel ban. and now you want to rely on the experts for the travel ban. you are waffling on this issue. we need to get this disease in its infancy. the president said it would not be here. we have one person die, three others infected. if we act now together, together, we can stop this in its infancy. that's what i'm proposing. >> we don't address a disease like ebola with common sense. we address it with experts. i think in the case of in-home quarantines they are workable. the governors have that authority.

the fact is if we are going to address diseases like this, we do need the research. we do need to support the c.d.c. and n.i.h. and what they are doing. there is those who argue if we had supported that funding we would be much further along in addressing a disease like ebola by now. it's disappointing that my opponent talks about this issue, but he doesn't want to do the hard work to address it. >> josh, back to you. >> thanks very much. next issue is going to be one that's very important to the pocketbooks and a lot of people here in new hampshire especially in the wintertime. that is on energy. that's coming from dan of the union leader. >> thank you. >> senator brown, natural gas prices are up. supply crisis in new hampshire that also means electricity prices are soaring. as we head into winter, what can be done at the federal level right now to bring relief to new hampshire? >> we can have a true approach, wind, solar, nuclear, hydro, making sure citizens are at the table in these decisions.

i am a pro-supply. i want to make sure we have more supply. senator shaheen has been anti-supply. she's already voted to pave the way for new national energy tax. she'll tell you i'm not in favor of that tax, how do you actually vote to create a fund to spend the money then not in favor of it? that's the washington doublespeak that we see. she's also voted to tax our energy producers in the middle of a recession, middle of a tourist season. she voted to increase taxes on our energy producers. natural gas. we don't have the deliverage or storage capacity. she's against nuclear. she's against gas and oil innovation. she's also against coal. how do you expect our citizens to actually afford to pay the bills in addition to that? electricity prices are going to go up 50% to 100%. carrie already has four jobs to help with her and her daughter and help them survive. i visited her. she got a notice. they are going up $100 next month.

she get a fifth job? it's policies being pushed by the president and senator shaheen making it more difficult for our citizens to pay their bills. >> senator shaheen, i bet you would like to respond. >> i would. the fact is energy is very important to our businesses. that's why i worked so hard as governor to lower energy prices in new hampshire and why i'm supporting energy efficiency legislation in washington. that would address the cheapest, fastest way to deal with our energy needs, which is energy efficiency. my opponent is just wrong. i don't support a national energy tax. independent fact checkers have indicated that that's a false accusation. and i do support nuclear power. i voted for legislation when i was on the energy committee in the senate to support nuclear power because if you believe in climate change and believe you have to address that, although my opponent doesn't, then you have to have nuclear power as part ever that energy mix. the fact is, the concerns about the young woman that my opponent talks about has to do with the kinds of policies that we are

supporting and what my opponent supported when he was in washington. he supported the corporate special interest. we need to support our middle class families. we need to raise the minimum wage. women need to get equal pay for equal work. my opponent opposes both of those. >> senator, please. >> thank you. she's raised two issues i'd like to take a shot at. senator ayotte, i, and many democrats and i voted against a bill that were tax energy producers in the middle of the tourist season, senator shaheen voted to increase them. when you're talking about equal payment i believe it. i live it. in my office when i was a senator, i paid women $1.21 for every $1 that men made. senator shaheen paid 95 cents for every dollar that men made. let's take it a step further, right now in our campaigns, in this quarter, senator shaheen pays 77 cents for every dollar that a man makes. i pay $1.14. you want to talk about fair pay, it's easy to talk rhetoric, i live it. i pay women more, senator, than

you do in my office because i have a house full of women as well. i want them to make more. especially the girls. i want them to help support gale and me. >> senator, please. >> scott brown is citing a right ring study that has already been proven to be wrong. the fact is regardless of what he cites, he has two opportunities when he was in washington to vote for equal pay for equal work for women. both times he voted no. i think women deserve equal pay. it's something i have been working on for decades. >> we'll move forward and go to james for the next question. >> thanks, josh. senator shaheen, we both heard >> thanks, josh. senator shaheen, we both heard from you guys in the campaign

that you're both pro-choice. earlier this month you brought this issue of abortion into the campaign when you started running ads. why did you do that? >> i trust women to make their own decisions about their reproductive health care all of the time not just part of the time. and that's the difference between me and my opponent because he supported the one amendment allowing employers to determine if their employees should get access to birth control for any moral reason. he supported the supreme court decision in hobby lobby which would also deny women access to birth control. their employers can make that decision. and when he ran for the senate in massachusetts in both 2010 and 2012 he was endorsed by anti-choice groups who said he voted with them 80% of the time. when he ran for office he opposed the freedom of choice act which would codify roe v. wade. i believe women in new hampshire need a senator they can count on in washington. that's what i have supported. and that's what i will continue to support.

>> senator brown, are there differences on this issue? >> senator shaheen has made this a central part of her campaign distorting my record on this very important issue for women. we are both pro-choice. we he both believe roe v. wade is the law of the land. we both believe women should have access to contraception. we do have some differences. i believe in a conscious exemption. people of faith should be able to practice their faith without their federal government telling them what to do. i believe we should have more adoptions. it's such a central part of who we are as people. and also i believe that parents should play a role in that very important decision because there are great people on both sides of that very important issue. as i travel around our state while women are deeply concerned about that, they are also concerned about how are they going to pay their high electric bills? how are they going to pay for the high cost of obamacare as a senator of senator shaheen's vote. how are they going to keep their small businesses up when senator shaheen has voted 100% of the

time against their interests. that's what they are also talking about. they are not single issued candidates. >> 30 seconds? >> again, i trust women to make their own decisions all of the time not just part of the time. scott brown will tell you he's pro-choice, but what you need to do is look at his record. when you look at his record you see that he voted for the blunt amendment he wants employers to determine if their employees can get access to birth control. that he supported the -- opposed the freedom of choice act which would codify roe v. wade. we need somebody in washington who's going to support women all of the time. >> we are going to pick up the pace with a lightning rod. answers will be limited to 30 seconds or shorter. senator shaheen, wasn't longing a you said the washington redskins should change their nickname. what about local schools?

red raiders, mow hawks, should they change their names? >> this is stirring a good debate among our high schools about whether they should continue to have those names for their teams. i think that's important. but the important thing about my opposition to the redskins and i think we see this with nfl, they have -- the national football league has an opportunity here to really make a statement about what's important. to say that we are not going to accept those racial slurs. just like they did in terms of ray rice and dealing with domestic violence. and sadly they have not been willing to take on that opportunity. >> thank you. senator brown, what do you think about the redskins and local schools? >> doesn't the federal government have more to do than worry about names for professional sports teams where billionaires are in charge? i want to focus on obamacare anti-business mandate coming in after the election. i want to focus on our national and world security. i want to focus on the border. i want to focus on the issues affecting the people of new hampshire. >> this is a lightning round. you answered. i appreciate it. let me ask you another one quick answer. do you believe senator brown, we are too politically correct as a society? >> i believe that there are good people in our country and in our state who can have a sense of humor once in a while. i think it's important we have lost that ability to kind of laugh at ourselves and with each other. that's my feeling.

>> senator shaheen, are we too politically correct? >> i think it's important for us to acknowledge people's differences. and that's part of trying not to use racial slurs. trying to accept people for who they are. that's what i think we should be supporting. >> one quick one. i know you can't do anything about this at the federal level, you both live in new hampshire i think it's important you weigh in on it. senator shaheen, do you think new hampshire should expand gambling and have casinos? >> when i was governor i supported gambling at our four tracks. we at that time had racetracks, it would have provided revenue to a state in a way i thought would have been helpful in supporting education and other priorities that the state has. >> yes. senator brown? >> it's a local issue that is deeply concerning to the affected cities and towns. i supported it in the past. i would -- if there is a federal element, i'm happy to be involved. it should be settled at the local level. >> time for the candidate to

candidate questions. we told each before the debate they could did a question. we drew an order and senator brown you ask the first question. >> thank you. senator shaheen, for the last six years you have voted with president obama 99% of the team -- time. is the president right 99% of the time? >> as i said, nobody's right 99% of the time. i'm glad you asked me that question because the fact is you quote a survey, there are lots of surveys out there, if you want to know what's in that survey, check my website. i work for new hampshire. i get up every day putting new hampshire first. if you want to see the bills in that survey, one is the defense bill. well, i worked hard, i'm on the armed services committee, i worked for the defense bill because it has provisions in it to help our shipyard, to help our national guard. i didn't support that bill because the president supported it.

i supported it because it was good for new hampshire. another bill that's in that list is the equal pay act. well, i believe women should get equal pay for equal work. that's why i voted for it. the twice it came up when scott brown was in the senate. he opposed it. he's talked about the nfib and chamber the commerce. look at the survey that the nfib came up with. one of the things that's on there is raising the minimum wage. he opposes it. i support it. that's why i'm not on their list. another thing that's on it is regulations the clean air act and clean water act. i think we need to support the clean air act and clean water act. my opponent opposes it. >> senator shaheen, your opportunity now to ask a question of your opponent. >> the five biggest oil companies last year made over $90 billion. yet you voted twice in the senate to support over $20 billion in subsidies to the oil companies. now, why should a waitress or a cashier at market basket have to pay through their taxes to subsidize the five biggest oil companies? how would you respond to a cashier market basket who asked you that question. companies last year made over $90 billion.

>> i'm very glad that market basket is back in business. that's where we do our shopping. that being said, senator ayotte and other democrats voted against that bill, that you keep referring to and running against me for the last year. when we are talking about our energy producers, you voted to tax those same energy producers. in addition to that, you have not all of the above approach when it comes to energy. i want to make sure that whatever happens it's not going to be passed through individual motorists. especially if you remember that bill was done in the middle of the tourist season, in the middle of recession when gas was about $.50 a gallon. if we want to have a conversation about energy, i already voted to eliminate the ethanol subsidy and other things like that, but to single out our energy producers in the middle of the recession, in the middle of the tourist season and not allow us to become energy independent, to step back from our dependence on foreign oil, i think is a mistake.

>> back to george stephanopoulos. >> we began by health care and we will. you brought up the affordable care act a couple times. right now your opposition to it well-known. you say you want to replace it. what do you say to the 40,000 new hampshire residents who signed up for coverage, the 10,000 additional who have gotten coverage under the medicaid expansion? can you guarantee, can you guarantee that those 50,000 new hampshire citizens won't have any interruption in their coverage if you get your way? >> let's talk about the interruption of the 22,000 people whose insurance was canceled. we had a situation where senator shaheen and the president said,

if you like your plan, you like your hospital, you can keep it. you may even get a check for $2,500. we find out that's not true. in addition, after the election there's a potential 70,000 other people about to lose their insurance as a result of the business mandate that's coming in after the election. we should have the ability to develop a plan that works for our state. it's been done in other states. we can address the catastrophic care, pre-existing condition, covering those people like you referred to george, making sure they don't fall through the system. to think that obamacare is the only answer, it's not. rates have gone up. deductibles have gone sky-high, employees are paying more. employers are paying more. we need to do it better. and i think that -- i remember when the president actually apologized for misrepresenting the entire obamacare, especially not only the rollout but the fact couldn't keep your doctors and hospitals. senator shaheen has never addressed it or apologized to the citizens of new hampshire. >> can you guarantee those citizens -- >> i believe we can handle that situation. the governor, legislature, the senate majority leader's here, we can work together and develop a plan that works for new

hampshire. to think that obamacare's the only answer, folks s. a false premise. we can develop a plan that reflects our rights and freedoms, that addresses the issues that people care about. what are the things that are important to you? you referenced two of them. i agree. make sure we roll up our sleeves and get it done. >> senator shaheen, i see you shaking your hand. let me ask you a question on the same subject b subject. the latest poll still shows a majority of new hampshire citizens opposed the affordable care act. when you have been asked about what kind of fixes you might make, you said you have an advisory commission for the website. no substantive fixes? >> no. i have also said i think we should repeal the medical device tax. the issue here is, i believe everybody in new hampshire should have access to quality affordable health care. we passed legislation that now gives almost 100,000 residents in new hampshire access to health care. the legislature passed a

bipartisan bill to expand health care to 50,000 people who now have medicaid. i talked to a realtor in londonderry, a man named steve white, who says he couldn't debt insurance because he had a pre-existing condition. finally his daughter talked him into signing up in the exchange in may. not three months later he had to have a quadruple bypass, he said he would have faced financial ruin without health care. what my opponent wants to do is to kick off those tens of thousands of people from their health care. he doesn't have a plan to replace it. rates are actually stabilized for the first time. anthem sent out a notice said rates are stable for next year. we've got four new carriers coming into the exchange. we need to fix what's not working about the law. but repealing it, kicking tens of thousands of people off their health care with no plan to replace it and years of indecision about what to do, that's not an answer. >> senator brown? >> she's like nancy pelosi. we have to pass it before we know what's in it. had she read the bill and known the medical device tax was in it, she voted for it. now she wants to fix it. my question is what are you going to do with the hundreds of millions of dollars that that hole is going to create as a result of repealing the medical device tax? there's no answer. the fix, she wants to have a commission, another commission in washington to study a website that already costs $2.4 billion. i think mine costs $5,000 and it's working well. she had a chance to fix it. i was there. she voted against every single effort to keep your doctor, your hospital, to opt out, every single time she voted against it. to come now and be disingenuous is just wrong. we can develop a plan that works for new hampshire that respects our rights and freedoms. that allows us to have competition. remember, when senator was governor, she changed the laws

in new hampshire that actually went from 26 insurance companies down to one. because right after the election we'll have more. i don't believe it. >> senator shaheen. >> my opponent's just wrong in terms of the cost of this law. we have already saved over $100 billion because of passing the affordable care act. what we have heard from c.b.o. is if we repeal it it's going to cost the debt over $1 trillion. the fact is it's working for those thousands of people who have pre-existing conditions, who now can get health insurance for people who no longer have to worry about annual or lifetime limits. for 26-year-olds who can stay on their parents' insurance. for people on medicare who are getting help with prescription drugs. and with preventive care. it's working. we need to fix what's not working about it. the medical device tax, as i said, is one thing i think we should repeal.

what i suggested is that we need an independent overseer over the website to make sure that it's working properly because that's been a real issue. but the answer is not to throw tens of thousands of people off their health care and have no plan to replace it. that's not an answer. to kick us back into a place where we are facing years before we got any answer to how we are going to make sure that people get access to health care? >> back to our panel. a question about jobs and the economy. >> usually we talk about jobs and the economy. a big picture conversation. i want to drill down to main street here in new hampshire. you both live on the sea coast.

let's go to the western part of the state and talk about sullivan county. senator brown, what do you see going right in the economy in sullivan county and what's going wrong? and please be specific. >> you're right. geography plays a role along the southern border we have more jobs. more opportunity. infrastructure and other opportunities up north are difficult. one of the biggest opportunities is tourism. one of the biggest opportunities is ski areas and trails for snowmobiles. i support those efforts. i know senator shaheen references a tourist bill. the biggest wet blanket right now on the economy in that area is obamacare. it's also those notices that people are getting, 50% to 100% increases on their electric rates.

rates are not going down. in addition to that, you have a situation where getting from point a to point b, inspiring businesses to stay there is problematic. what are they looking at? highest corporate tax rates in the industrialized world. >> we are talking about sullivan county. i think you were talking about the north country. what do you see going well in sullivan county or not? >> any place past concord, actually. the challenges of our state. so i'm referring to the challenges, including the high corporate tax rate, obamacare coming in after the election. we also have the challenges of high electric costs.

if you go to any business in any county in our state those are the real counties -- >> sullivan county is west of concord not north. what do you see going well and not going well there? >> with respect i answered the questions. the challenges are the same in every county in our state. >> senator shaheen, you ever been that county's governor and senator for 12 years. what problems remain there? why are they unresolved? what are you going to do about it? >> when i was governor we helped lower electric rates in sullivan county, that was one of the big

issues they were still facing. now fortunately they are able to be more competitive. we have worked with them on what are called new market tax credits so they could attract new industries into claire month. one of the things i worked on was the department of labor grant to get health with our community technical colleges. they are working with advanced manufacturers in the sullivan county area to help them match the jobs they are creating with people who need job skills. again, this is one of the differences between my opponent and me. because i believe we've got to support our small businesses, that's where 2/3 of jobs are being created. when he was in washington he supported the big guys. the corporate special interests. subsidies for the oil companies. he said we couldn't afford the small business jobs act, but he supported over $20 billion in subsidies for the oil companies. >> dan from the union leader for the next question. >> thank you. senator shaheen, the school shooting in newtown renewed calls for gun control. short of revisiting the second amendment, what sort of proposal would you support that would possibly have stopped that tragedy? >> i'm really glad to hear this question. it was a terrible tragedy. we need to address the challenges that towns are facing because of gun violence. i'm a supporter of the second amendment. it's been important to the state's hunting and sports tradition, but i think we've got to keep guns out of the hands of convicted felons, out of people who are mentally ill. my opponent when he was in massachusetts said he supported an assault weapons ban. then he touted his support from anti-gun advocate, mayor bloomberg, then when he came up to new hampshire he switched his position and says now he doesn't support an assault weapons ban. i'm really interested in hearing

what he has to say about this because i think there are responsible measures we can agree to if we work together. that's what i supported in the senate. >> senator brown, you said you wouldn't propose any new legislation if you returned to washington. but could you support any new gun legislation whatsoever like, for example, expanding criminal background checks for gun shows and internet sales? a proposal the republicans, including john mccain, have supported in the past? >> i'm glad the senator's talked about my second amendment position. as a gun owner i take it very seriously. i signed on the dotted line at 19 years old to make sure we could carry and bare arms. she's also agreed to sign on to a letter outsourcing our second amendment rights. when it comes to proposing new legislation, that's correct. i'm not going to propose legislation. i said to all the gun owners in our state whatever proposal comes up i would be sure to hold a town meeting. make sure we get their input and guidance and move forward from there. >> but, would you support a background check for new gun sales? >> any proposal that comes up,

first of all i want to read the bill. understand the bill. i read everything. i understand it. i see how they affect our state, country, debt and deficit. i vote. unlike senator shaheen who voted for obamacare without reading it, i make sure we do that. my door is always opened on these issues. i make sure we hold a town hall to make sure we have an input from the citizens. do i agree with her on the mental health issues and the felons. not having the ability to get the hands on weapons. when in fact they are clear and mental disability is addressed, they have the ability to get off any list to have their access to their -- >> senator shaheen, 30 seconds to move on. >> well, owe talks about legislation. that's a bogus issue. that won't affect gun rights. people in new hampshire know me. when i was governor i didn't try to take their guns away. he also talks about how he reads every legislation. piece of legislation.

apparently he didn't read the bill that would have closed the loopholes that reward companies for outsourcing because when we debated the last time, he said he had never voted for that bill. in fact, he voted for it, senate bill 3816. he voted for it on september 28, 2010. >> i want to get to a topic we touched on earlier under the umbrella of energy. senator brown, you said that climate change is the result of both natural and man-made forces. accept that idea for a moment. can't do much about the natural rise. what should we do to stem the tide of the man-made damages being done? >> we need to have an all of the above approach to energy, wind, solar, nuclear, hydro, geothermal, making sure everybody's at the table with any of those decisions. it's so critically important. the key is how do we strike that balance? how do we actually have the ability to enjoy our environment, enjoy the natural beauty of our state, but also have the ability to create jobs and become energy independent? we have a very real difference on that issue. she's against nuclear. she's against coal. she's against gas and oil innovation. i have supported the production tax credit.

believe in innovation. believe in allowing our wind and solar folks to have an opportunity to see if it actually works. efficiency is very important. that's why we recycle. we shut off our lights. i encourage everybody else to do it. to think we are not going to have the ability to become an energy independent, that's where we differ greatly. >> senator shaheen, please respond to that and also include whether you think a carbon tax is part of the solution, please. >> i haven't supported a carbon tax and i don't support it. but i do think the impact of climate change is very real. we see it now in our habitat. where moose is down 40% in new hampshire. our ski season being shorter. i think we've got to address it in ways that will help us in new england. i support energy efficiency. i have legislation with rob portman, republican from ohio, to address energy efficiency.

it would help create 200,000 jobs, save consumers over $16 billion, and be the equivalent of taking $22 million cars off the road. when we tried to pass it my opponent lobbied to kill it. not only that, he continues to support those subsidies to the oil companies. i think we should take some of that money and we should invest it in new energy technologies and energy efficiency. in companies like synergy, i was in portsmouth, they are making gas turbines helping to clean our oil industry. we should be supporting that not

continuing to support the subsidies to the oil companies. >> 30 seconds? >> energy efficient is important. when you're dealing with an energy efficiency bill, you have to include the keystone pipeline. i'm in favor of it. good union, nonunion jobs. senator shaheen's opposed to it. she's indicating she's not proposing a carbon tax issue. voted to pave the way for a national energy tax by creating a fund that would spend the money from the tax. once again only in washington is that not true as to how they are trying to spend your money before they even get it. >> senator shaheen, did you want a moment there to respond? we can move on. >> no. i have said i never supported a national energy tax. independent facts checkers say that accusation is false. what i do support is energy efficiency. i support taking some of those subsidies that my opponent keeps wanting to give to the oil companies and investing in energy efficiency. new energy technologies because that's what gives us choices here in new jersey. >> we have a minute to go. light it up a little bit before the closing question which will come from george. charlie brown's great pumpkin is going to be on after this, i think. senator shaheen, which character in peanuts do you most closely identify with? >> lucy, of course. >> fair enough. senator brown? >> charlie brown. >> where's the football?

we are going to move forward now. final portion of our debate. in lieu of that closing statement we'll have a closing question as we mentioned. it's not something that's issue based. we did draw for this order earlier today. senator brown's going to go first with that closing question from george stephanopoulos. >> first i have to say i'm a linus guy. >> blanket and everything? >> pigpen on my end. >> senator brown, not using too strong a word to say most americans are disgusted with washington. you see record low approval ratings for congress. democrats and republicans alike. 2/3 of the country of americans believe we are going in the wrong direction. you have served in the senate before. you want to go back again. i wonder if you can reflect on what personal responsibility you take for creating that toxic environment? what will you do if you get re-elected, elected to the senate that you didn't do the last time? >> i did it last time and do it again to be that independent senator. i was 50-50 voting with both sides. we were able to get the hire veterans bill, a crowd funding,

and a whole host of other legislation passed by working together. that's a very real difference. for this last six years with no pushback from our senior senator, washington has been chipping away to our rights and freedoms. telling us what to do, how to do it, and just sit down and be quiet if you don't like it. i'm not going to stand for it and neither should you. we have an opportunity right now to be that check and balance to the president and push back against the overbearing government and what they are doing to our citizens. chipping away, as i said, with our rights and freedoms. the only way we can change direction is to change senators. senator shaheen is a nice person. i respect her greatly, but since going to washington, she's lost her independence.

she's voting with the president 99% of the time. and george, you asked what i'll do. i'll be that independent senator for the people of new hampshire. i will bring back that independent spirit, fighting for our new hampshire advantage. fighting for our rights and freedoms. that's what's missing. i want to be there to make sure i can bridge that gap. >> senator shaheen? >> yes, i think we need to change the rules of the senate. i don't think we should allow one person to hold things up in the senate. and that's what my opponent did when he was in washington. he voted for 44 filibusters. that's more than we had in this country in the whole 50 years 2009 1917 and 1968. he also -- i sponsored twice as many bipartisan bills as he has in the senate. and i believe we've got to work across the aisle. most importantly, i believe we need a senator from new hampshire who's going to work for new hampshire. who's going to put new hampshire first. who understands that we need to give our small businesses and middle class families a fair shot at success. that's what i have done in the last six years and that's what i

will continue to do. supporting things like the small business jobs act. which are helping our small businesses. i talked about dying. the funding in that bill has now helped over 00 businesses create or retain 3,000 jobs. we have seen a million people come to the united states and spend $4 million because of the travel promotion act that helps us attract visitors from outside of the state. we need somebody who's going to work for new hampshire every single day, putting the state first. that's what i will do. my opponent supported corporate stint when he was in washington. >> believe it or not that is going to conclude tonight's debate. thanks very much to the candidates for coming in. thank to our panel and audience here in the studio. reminder, for information you can find it at wmur.com and loob for the politics page. on monday catch up on all the races during our commitment 2014 countdown to the election show. this sunday, by the way, i'll have a complete debate recap on close up, also on sunday you can match this week with george stephanopoulos, which i'm sure might touch on a little bit of politics. >> no question. we'll have special election coverage on the network tuesday night. great to be here. >> thanks. that does it for now. see you tonight at 10:00 on metv and right back here at 11:00.

thank you. have a great night. [applause] [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. visit ncicap.org] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2014] >> president obama is making campaign stops to democratic candidates this weekend. be in philadelphia to speak at a rally for tom wolfe, democratic candidate for governor of pennsylvania. on the president's stops, noting his presence in campaign 2014 fundraising.

the president's appearance in philadelphia is expected to be his last campaign stop before election day. we will have president obama for you tonight on c-span. his remarks are scheduled to begin shortly after 7:00 p.m. eastern. we will have the campaign stops with the president and rand paul campaigning for pennsylvania governor. those remarks for both of those people start and 9:35 eastern on c-span. >> throughout campaign 2014, c-span brought you more than 113 candidate debates from across the country in races that will determine control of the next congress. this tuesday night, watch live election coverage to see who wins.